Question... What do you use to exfoliate your face? I just wash my face with African black soap right now--but I would like to do some deep cleaning once in awhile. Also, deodorant recommendations? I'm going to Whole Foods soon and I wanted to try something more natural (normal deodorants make my armpits black).

Thanks!

Jess the Mess

08-04-2011 12:50 AM

Oatmeal, flax seed, and goat's milk gound up make a great exfoliator.

I've used the "stone" deodorant thing in the winter with success but definitely not summer. I need something stronger in the warmer months. I believe Saria uses something that works good.

Saria

08-04-2011 01:26 AM

I use PSF's Castille cleanser for my face.

The deodorant is Lafes and it works wonderfully. It's their spray one, though lately I've been using their roll-on (liquid, not gel or bar) and then a couple of spritzes of the spray to boost it and allow me to go longer without re-applying. The spray is great by itself, but I like the added protection I get from using the roll-on first. Like I've said before, this stuff holds even after working in 100+-degree hot lines for at least eight hours (though I try to re-apply once in the middle of that).
I found it after trying a few others that didn't work after I made the switch from regular deodorants and anti-perspirants. The huge black bruise-like spot I got that was crawling towards my breast scared me away from that stuff for good.

I do think you have to be okay with sweating though. Some people get so used to anti-perspirant, which basically doesn't allow those pores to breathe.
After a long walk on a hot day, I often smell like sweat, but it's not the same as BO. I can't smell any BO, just clean sweat. It seems people often mistake one for the other.

Amazinnatural

08-04-2011 02:16 AM

I tried natural deodorant and it did not work for me, plus it made my armpit dark and I had a huge rash under my arms that itched and burned! Im definitely not a fan of that foolishness, natural my a**, it was the absolute worse. So I made the switch back, to regular deordorant, my armpits lightened up and the rash went away. Now I will say that I have made my own face scrub and I have used black soap body wash which was good.

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moodydove

08-04-2011 09:52 AM

Old tea leaves or cornmeal to exfoliate.

Lotsawaves

08-04-2011 11:27 AM

I use baking soda weekly to exfoliate my face, neck and chest.

Saria

08-04-2011 11:46 AM

I exfoliate with BHA, by the way. Coarse, gritty exfoliants are not good to your face.

AmazinNatural, I don't know what kind of "natural" deodorant you used, but I suspect if you'd checked the ingredients it wasn't a natural deodorant at all. The ingredients in my deodorant are water, mineral salts, and aloe vera.

rainshower

08-04-2011 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sleepymeko
(Post 1734538)

Question... What do you use to exfoliate your face? I just wash my face with African black soap right now--but I would like to do some deep cleaning once in awhile. Also, deodorant recommendations? I'm going to Whole Foods soon and I wanted to try something more natural (normal deodorants make my armpits black).

Thanks!

i consider myself to be quite green with personal care.

i use the oil cleansing method with just jojoba oil to clean my face and neck.

to exfoliate, i use a bathcloth and warm water. even a soft bathcloth offers enough friction to rub off dead, flaky skin. the key is to first loosen the dead skin. i also exfoliate my face with my bare hands while in the shower after the warm, steamy water has loosened the dead skin. the circular motions of my fingers across my face rubs off the dead skin and putting my face under the shower stream washes the dead skin away.

once a month, i do a green clay mask after my period is gone to help draw out any toxins and dry up any lone whiteheads that were produced that week.

at night, i let my skin breath by not putting anything on it, unless i have a blemish that i spot treat with a drop of jojoba oil.

deodorant? LOLOLOLOL in my circle of close friends, they know that this topic has been an obsession of mine for well over a decade. i have tried virtually every "natural" deodorant and homemade armpit concoction with no success. either my underarm skin reacted to it, or it was too weak to work as a deodorant even for 3 hours straight.

i used lafe's a long time ago, but don't think it was a roll-on and remember it lasting about 2 weeks before failing on me. i may try their roll-on version to see if it can work for me all day. what i am using now is the crystal roll-on that i have to reapply at work around the 1:30 hour mark. which is fine. i just keep a sample size in my desk and touch up.

i'm not a heavy sweater, so i don't mind feeling moistness under my arms, i just don't want to smell anything offensive. i don't mind smelling sweat; i just don't want to smell like hotdogs with chili and onions!

baking soda worked on the odor, but inflamed my skin and left discoloration that is still not totally gone, and i experimented with that about 11 years ago! and cutting it with cornstarch didn't help.

midgi

08-04-2011 10:33 PM

I use jojoba oil as my moisturizer as well. I was using Cetaphil before, but on the advice of a friend I switched to jojoba and I will never go back. The texture of my skin has changed dramatically and I no longer have enlarged/blocked pores on my face.

sleepymeko

08-04-2011 10:42 PM

Hmm... I see. I actually tried the Baking Soda mask and completely forgot about it. How often do you recommend that I should do it? Once a week?

As for deodorant...Maybe I can try to find an unscented one. The one I was using works pretty well I think. But I also just bought an epilator so hopefully that'll make the "darkness" go away. Or I can try exfoliating my armpits with lemon juice?

Also, this is about food. I love yogurt, I really do... But I absolutely HATE the yogurts that they sell at grocery stores. Most if not, all are no sugar and taste like crap. And if it's not no sugar, it's all watery and disgusting. I was looking to go to Whole Foods to try a nice brand of yogurt (with sugar). Any recommendations? And the best tasting one. I just can't stand runny and disgusting tasting yogurt. I simply cannot and will not digest aspartame!

Amazinnatural

08-04-2011 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saria
(Post 1734770)

I exfoliate with BHA, by the way. Coarse, gritty exfoliants are not good to your face.

AmazinNatural, I don't know what kind of "natural" deodorant you used, but I suspect if you'd checked the ingredients it wasn't a natural deodorant at all. The ingredients in my deodorant are water, mineral salts, and aloe vera.

It was that Tom's brand of "natural deodorant" it was horrible I swear. I wish I had the container to post the ingredients, from what I recall it was 100% natural but it did not work for me at all

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blissdrops

08-04-2011 11:13 PM

When I went vegan I stopped needing deodorant. I stopped sweating and smelling under my arms.

Saria

08-04-2011 11:24 PM

When I buy yogurt, it's always plain, full-fat, and usually Greek style. My preferred brand is Skotidakis, which is not sold by Whole Foods. I buy it at a local market here that sells Greek products. They sell many types of Greek yogurt. I flavor and sweeten to taste. You're not supposed to eat it plain unless you like it like that, so it's not fair to say that they taste awful because they're no sugar. Plain yogurt is meant to be flavored whether it's for sweet or savory. It's what you're going to use for cooking and baking. Best yogurt I had was house-made by a cheese shop. It was Greek-style and goat's milk. It managed to surpass Skotidakis! :eek: Also had great ones from the farmer's market from a few different vendors. If you have places like this, check them out!
I also like labne/lebneh/lebni, which is basically the Middle Eastern variety of Greek-style yogurt. This is also not sold at Whole Foods, but rather in places with any sort of Middle Eastern population.

Brands sold at Whole Foods depend on where you live. Maple Hill Creamery makes really nice, lightly sweetened yogurt. Liberte is a good brand as well. Brown Cow is said to be good. These are not Greek-style, but I'd hardly say they're runny. They're simply normal whole milk consistency. I never buy low-fat yogurt, so I don't know if they sell low-fat versions and what they're like. For Greek style, Fa-ge is easily found and I think they sell some sweetened yogurt as well. Oikos is another Greek-style yogurt. Iggi's makes skyr, which isn't really yogurt, but is marketed like it. Theirs is lightly sweetened and has no stabilizers.

Saria

08-04-2011 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blissdrops
(Post 1735261)

When I went vegan I stopped needing deodorant. I stopped sweating and smelling under my arms.

Ah yes, gotta push that agenda about how no longer eating meat is a panacea --- it will make your skin more beautiful, your whole appearance better, and even make your body stop sweating. :roll:

Saria

08-04-2011 11:42 PM

Tom's brand is really not a great all-natural brand. They use a lot of ingredients that other good companies do not. This applies to a lot of brands for a lot of products: you need to actually look at the ingredients. Lots of products say things like "all-natural" and it means nothing.
But I will say I don't really buy into all-natural anything being best just because it's "natural". People are just afraid of science-y sounding words. I don't care for stabilizers in my yogurt, but a bit of Cremodan 40 in homemade ice cream makes for superior results. Xantham gum is a natural product that makes many just dismiss something with it because it sounds like it shouldn't be in there. Without it, gluten-free baking would be very difficult indeed, as would many vegan ice creams.

sleepymeko

08-04-2011 11:42 PM

Oh believe me! I've been trying to go vegan since I was fifteen, but it was so hard since my mother is a huge carnivore! I'm moving off to college soon and I'll finally be able to go full vegan. I actually prefer it since I do not like the taste of meet!

Actually, I usually only eat plain yogurt--I prefer it to be honest. But lately, the brands that I buy from the grocery store are so RUNNY and watery. It's so awful that I cannot eat them anymore. And it sucks because I love plain yogurt! I love making my own fruit parfaits too :evil4:

I'll try those yogurts!

Saria

08-04-2011 11:48 PM

But why not just be a vegetarian? You like dairy, yes? If you don't like meat, don't eat meat. If you want to be a vegan, be a vegan. It's just a complete crock that being vegan will make you look and feel better (oh, and smell better, too, jeez). It's just like the pushing of raw food diets as being so much better and "cleansing". People talking out their, well, you know.

sleepymeko

08-04-2011 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saria
(Post 1735273)

But why not just be a vegetarian? You like dairy, yes? If you don't like meat, don't eat meat. If you want to be a vegan, be a vegan. It's just a complete crock that being vegan will make you look and feel better (oh, and smell better, too, jeez). It's just like the pushing of raw food diets as being so much better and "cleansing". People talking out their, well, you know.

Honestly, I have no idea what to label my diet as. I hate meat and fish... Hate poultry, but I do love dairy :laughing8:

Saria

08-04-2011 11:59 PM

That's vegetarian. If you don't eat meat (which includes poultry) and fish and consume dairy and/or eggs, you're an octo-lavo vegetarian, which is what most vegetarians are.

redcelticcurls

08-05-2011 12:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Saria
(Post 1735267)

Quote:

Originally Posted by blissdrops
(Post 1735261)

When I went vegan I stopped needing deodorant. I stopped sweating and smelling under my arms.

Ah yes, gotta push that agenda about how no longer eating meat is a panacea --- it will make your skin more beautiful, your whole appearance better, and even make your body stop sweating. :roll: